Wonderful Weekend

Well, our time away was just what the doctor ordered. The B&B was really nice. One surprise was that the common areas were also shared by the innkeepers' family...which isn't our preference, but it turned out to be okay anyway. Ben & Liz Ehrhart and their two young girls were so nice and made our stay very comfortable. And since there was only one other couple there it was still a quiet retreat for us.

Their log home is gorgeous! Our room was simply furnished with antiques and of course a homemade quilt. Liz's grandmother's needlepoint from when she was a girl decorated the walls. Clean, uncluttered, and comfortable. And our breakfast was oh so yummy--pancakes with homemade berry preserves, yogurt and fruit, sausages, cranberry nut bread, coffee and OJ. Loved it!

We had such a relaxing day walking around Lititz; the day brisk but full of sunshine. We made some new discoveries and great bargains.

Those of you familiar with The Herb Shop will be disappointed to know that they are closing down the East Main St. location, effective tomorrow. They will still have their stand at Central Market in Lancaster though. We came away with a big bag full of discounted items: flavored coffees, loose-leaf tea, dried mushrooms, spices, and a bottle of Burgundy Garlic Peppercorn sauce my mouth is watering to try with a nice juicy steak and mushrooms. YUM.

To my fellow chocolate and coffee lovers there is a great little place just starting up. It's called Cafe Chocolate and you can check it out here: http://www.chocolatelititz.com/ Pete was wired after "The Turbo"--classic hot chocolate with a shot of expresso. What's nice is that they use organic and fair trade ingredients whenever possible. Alittle pricey, but certainly no worse than the chain coffee shops.

We enjoyed a light lunch at the Glassmyer Restaurant. It used to be an old-fashioned soda shop, and though it now serves breakfast and lunch, it is one of the very few locations in all of Lancaster County that still offers egg creams and phosphates. Then we took a stroll through Lititz Springs Park as we munched on some Wilbur Buds.

We had a great time and highly recommend you check out this quaint little town.

What's On My Sidebar

Some of you may have already perused the items on my sidebar, but in the event that you haven't, let me explain a bit.

Under my Blog Archive is my Shelfari Bookshelf. This is a way that I can share my favorite books and recommendations. There's about 50 so far. You can click on the "shelfari" logo at the top to see all the books I have added, my ratings (1-5 stars), my favorites (designated by a heart), and my reviews (if I have written one for that particular book). Or, while on my blog, you can simply pause your mouse over a book, and a pop-up window will let you read my review. To see more than the 5 or 6 that regularly appear on my shelf, click the Next button at the bottom right.

Under that are some links. Kathleen Connally has a huge collection of her personal photos--most depicting rural life. She has kindly allowed me to use some for my header and I love to just visit her site from time to time. Clicking on her name will take you there. The Crossway Church and Sovereign Grace links are great if you are interested in finding out more about the church and family of churches that Pete and I have been so blessed to be part of since 2001. The last link, Plugged In Online, is a great resource to preview the content on today's music, movies and television shows. It cuts no corners in evaluating it from a bibilical standpoint. I like to use it as a tool--not a hard and fast rulebook for my listening and viewing. Often it helps me stop and evaluate if it truly will benefit me or my family...when I may be tempted to justify my own lack of discretion and laziness.

The last few things are pretty self-explanatory. Click on any of the blog titles if you want to explore my favorites. If you are a Yahoo User, creating an Avatar is something fun. It's just one more way modern technology makes it possible to express ourselves creatively...well, the computer does it for us really.

If you know of other sidebar fun to be had, let me know!
That concludes our tour ladies and gentlemen. :-)

It's My Party...And I'll Cry If I Want To!

Last night we were at my brother and sister-in-law's house to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday. Both sides of the family were there and the kids and adults alike enjoyed catching up. It was a loud and crazy 3 hours with the kids (age 3 and younger) providing the entertainment. Lots of laughter that's for sure!

Here are the older three--obviously enjoying one another's company.

And the birthday boy! I think all the flashes and eyes trained solely on him was a little overwhelming. He did enjoy the icing though once he decided that indeed no one was going to take it from him. Too good to be true!!!

Happy Birthday Avery! We Love You, Little Man!"

I Love ALDI's!

Many of you are probably aware of the bargains to be found at ALDI's. Well, when we moved back to PA you can imagine my delight in discovering a new one had been built just 15 minutes away! It has saved us so much money on our grocery bill each week--that and The Country Store in Mount Joy.

Anyway...Tuesday night I was once again on the internet browsing Target's site. I've been looking for new wall decor for months now. My hope has been to find a large (at least 2x3') decorative metal piece for our living/dining room. Target had the cheapest price of anything I had found, but the one that fit our space was over $100! I thought this seemed too much, so I decided to forget about it...again.

Well, Wednesday morning I'm at ALDI's going about my grocery shopping. I turn into the next aisle and laugh out loud! This is what I saw with the price tag of $20--exactly what I was looking for! Now I just have to be patient until the room can be painted. :-)


I just had to thank God for that unexpected blessing and marvel at his sense of humor and timing!

So Excited

Those of you that we see on a regular basis have a good idea how busy Pete's school schedule has kept us lately. Finally, this week there's been a break in the "clouds" as he now only has his teaching load to concentrate on. Since August he's been taking online classes to work towards his masters--part of the ongoing requirement for his PA certification. Some lean more heavily on reading and writing, but all have taken a good chunk of his time and mental energy.

He has encouraged me by his perseverance--God has given much grace to him in this intense season. None-the-less, we are both breathing sighs of relief that it's letting up a bit. Back in February I knew that celebrating Valentine's Day with some time for the two of us wasn't a real option, so I booked an overnight at a B&B for this coming weekend. Thank you God--what perfect timing!

It's called Furnace Hills Bed & Breakfast and it's just above the Turnpike and 322, north of Hopeland. (About an hour drive for us.) We enjoy the outdoors and rustic types of places, but this seems to include all the comfort features you want too for a night away as a couple. Check it out...Yes, that's a hot tub on the back deck!!!





We'll eat out Friday night and spend Saturday enjoying downtown Lititz. There's the Herb Shop (our favorite place to buy loose leaf tea), Sturgis Pretzel Factory, Lititz Springs Park, and a host of antique and gift shops. We may catch a matinee after lunch, but really want to take some time to intentionally connect too. I found a helpful list of "date night questions" to guide us a bit. If you too sometimes struggle to make the most of your cherished times away, check out this link.
http://scott.andstuff.org/DateQuestions
It's got something for everyone and every season of life!

MSMD

No, it's not a new disease...just shorthand (or text talk for those of you who are tech savy) for the sydrome my daughter has developed. It stands for "Monkey See, Monkey Do".

This morning she was standing on her stepstool by the bathroom sink as I was blowdrying my hair. There we stood side by side in front of the mirror, she and I. First she wanted a hairbrush so she too could style her hair. Then it was the toothbrush. I let her play and wasn't particularly mindful of what she was doing until I saw she had picked up my tweezers.

Now, this is not something she's ever played with before, and I probably wouldn't offer it in the first place. But as I saw her lift it up to her browline, squint really hard and grimace, I couldn't keep from roaring. IS THAT WHAT I LOOK LIKE?!?!?! Oh my goodness...I laughed so hard! It was a good thing I was already in the right room.

Take 5 Tuesday

The question for this week:

What are 5 of your favorite breakfast foods (even if you don't always eat them in the morning)?

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Here is my list:

1. Toast with butter and either cinnamon sugar or lemon curd.

2. Vanilla yogurt with granola.

3. Hashbrown, sausage, cheese & egg casserole.

4. Scrambled egg sandwich (toast, cheese, egg & ketchup)

5. German Apple Pancakes (see my recipe box)

***a strong cup of coffee or tea and fruit included